The Battle of the Mind
by iamdelilah
Summary: My altered version of Health and Fitness. Zack is refused sweets and hates it. Cody sits by and watches him suffer for as long as he can, until he can no longer stand it. Incestuous slashy fluff. ZackxCody. Oneshot.


Sitting next to my mom on the couch of the Tipton lobby, I glanced over at Zack who had just inhaled a chocolate bar.

I starred at him with my mouth agape, appalled.

"You know, this health questionnaire is really interesting. I'd like to show you, but you might eat it."

"Not unless it's made of chocolate." he replied seriously.

"Zack," Mom stood up, holding her own pamphlet in her hand, "Do you realize that kids who eat too much sugar increase their risk of getting diabetes?

"So we'll compromise, I won't put sugar on my cake anymore." He shrugged.

"This is serious young man, we're changing your diet."

He stood up angrily. "What're you, my mother?"

"Starting today, no more sugar. Instead you'll be having six servings of fruit, six servings of vegetables, three servings of dairy and two servings of meat, fish or poultry, oh that sounds expensive, I better go cut some coupons."

He glared down at me as Mom walked out. I looked up at him innocently. "This is all your fault. They better make chocolate covered fish and vegetables."

"Mom's right, Zack, the eating habits we develop at our age are the ones that will carry us through life."

"I'm pretty sure you're not my mom."

"No, but I do care about you. And I want you to be around for a long time..." I replied quietly.

"Yeah, whatever," he shot back, retreating back to the suite.

As the days fallowed all Zack did was complain about having to be healthy. It made me mad, he didn't care if he was hurting himself and me by eating like he had, but he was only thinking of himself, as usual.

Weeks went on and not a day passed in which Zack didn't complain during every meal. At school he whined during lunch, until everyone at the table got up and left him alone, including me.

"We're going to be late if we don't leave within the next ten minutes," I called from the living room. We would soon find ourselves aboard the bus, going on with life. But no matter where he was, or what he was doing, sweets always seemed to keep him distracted.

Once again the seemingly incurable and phantom like obsession would rise inside of him, bringing him them cravings for white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, ice cream piled on top of warm apple pie, pralines or the common Snickers bar. His obsession was unhealthy.

"Zack, you don't do anything anymore. You never want to hang out or go skating or anything," I looked at my brother as we sat on the couch after school one afternoon. He shrugged.

During supper he would, once again, be seen faking a smile in front of Mom as he forced down another bite of a carrots, wheat bread, broccoli, or skinless chicken. All of the various combinations of vegetables, meat and fruit that any homeless person would be happy to have only brought misery upon Zack.

One afternoon, while walking home, he said he could have sworn he smelled fried ice cream dipped in chocolate syrup but no matter how hard he tried, I wouldn't let him locate the source. He spent the rest of the day dreaming about the feeling of ice cream melting on his tongue, the taste of red velvet cake, the smell of microwaved banana Moon Pies and melted chocolate.

The more he craved, the more he complained. The less he ate, the more he craved. And with every day that passed, he became more and more obsessed, until he reached the point in which he could no longer think of anything else.

Not even his dreams were sacred anymore. At night he tossed and turned until his bed sheets would fall to the floor, tangled and ignored.

"Are you okay?" I would ask the next morning, silently observing the dark circles under his eyes and the way he seemed to scowl all the time. And no matter how good of a liar Zack might have considered himself, he began to find it increasingly harder to avoid my worried eyes watching him at meal times, following him around school, watching him as he slept.

His friends were beginning to worry about him. They would stop by the suite and offer to take him somewhere, their treat.

More often then not Zack lay on the couch as I sat at the table, talking to my mom about his obsession that still hasn't passed even after two weeks. Visions of peanut butter candy, candied yams, and pudding, would once again intrude his mind and cause him to stir or cry out in his sleep. I would place a calm and gentle hand against his forehead, pushing his bangs out of his face and press a soft kiss to his forehead.

As days continued, Zack found another cure. Instead of always being home he was constantly leaving the suite, not wanting to be around me or our mother anymore. When she wouldn't dare step between my brother and the front door, I decided to put an end to his constant cravings for good. His hair hung in his eyes, and it was obvious that he had not bothered to do as much as run a brush through it in some time.

It was a rainy saturday afternoon when he decided to go out yet again. Mom was rehearsing for her show in the lounge, so I'd be alone if he were to leave. "Stay home with me," I said softly as I followed him to the door. I put my hand on his jaw, turning his face so he had no choice but to look me in the eyes. "Just this once, stay with me. Talk to me, please? You need help, Zack..."

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he leaned into my touch, his eyes shutting. And before he had a chance to tell me he had to go, that he wouldn't stay, I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the counter, instructing him to keep his eyes closed. I picked up a caramel-filled chocolate bonbon rolled in coconut and held it to his lips, instructing him to bite.

Even though he was at first hesitant to do so, when he finally parted his lips and gently bit down on it, he was rewarded with a sticky sweet taste that pulled him back into reality – bringing him back to days of summer we spent watching movies in the suite, playing at the park until sunset, staying up until all hours of the night and getting sick from popcorn smothered in melted butter and M&Ms, when neither one of us cared about our health.

"Mmm..." he whimpered as his eyes opened and locked with mine, face covered in both a delighted yet confused expression. "But why'd you ..."

"You were so miserable without chocolates and sugar, I couldn't stand it anymore. You needed it."

He smiled, taking another bite and finishing exquisite candy ball that was still in my hand.

"Thank you, Cody," he whispered, taking a bonbon from the tray on the counter and putting it to my lips this time. I bit down and let the creamy caramel fill my mouth, sticking to the roof of it.

I finished chewing and once again placed my hand along his jaw, pulling him into a tender kiss, the dynamic flavor of the soft chocolate combined with the warmth of his mouth created the real taste of comfort– washing away all traces of the war that his mind had waged against itself, and satisfying every one of his cravings with a single touch of a brother.


End file.
